Jar closure



April 28, 1942. D. w. GUNN 2,281,433 i JAR c-:LosURE Filed July 8, 1939 Patented Apr. 28, 1942.

oFFIcE 2,281,433 JAR cLosUar:

Douglas William Gunn, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application July 8, 1939,y Serial No. 283,496

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a closure for containers used for packing products which must be tightly sealed.

In the type of containers which are used specially for packing cooked food products such as jams, preserves and the like, closures have been proposed which consist of a top and a spring member the latter being carried by either the top or the container itself. The spring member holds the top and the container in sealed engagement. However, such containers have the main disadvantages that due to the type of spring member used and the conguration of either container or top required by such a spring member, packing and stacking of the containers is restricted. Furthermore, such containers are unsuitable for display purposes. Generally too, the spring members for known closures are of delicate and comparatively complicated construction so that their maufacture is quite costly and their operation not always sure.v

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a closure for containers and particularly for those adapted to pack food products and those products whose sale depends largely upon the ease with which they can be displayed, which closures will, in addition to effectively sealing the container make it possible to stack and pack the containers economically both for storage and transport as well as arrange for display.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a closure which will automatically relieve pressure produced when the products are heated in the sealed container so that when the pressure has been relieved the closure will immediately and automatically return to its sealed position.

According to the invention, the closure comprises a top having a countersunk central portion and a grooved peripheral portion. These are preferably so arranged and the countersunk portion of such depth that when the top is placed on the container the countersunk central portion extends downwardly within the container and the peripheral portion rests on the edges. The closure also comprises spring means fulcrumed in the countersunk portion of the top and extending through the grooves in the peripheral portion to engage shoulder means provided on the container adjacent its open end. The fulcruming of the spring means in the countersunk portion of the top, and the fact that it extends through grooves in the peripheral portion results in that the uppermost points of the them attractively 5' spring are at most iiush with the upper surface ofthe peripheral portion of the top. Thus no parts of the closure extend above the latter, and

*so the container with this closure can be stacked as desired and arranged in a fashion most suitable for particular display purposes. The placing of vone sealed container upon anotherwill not 'aiiectthe seal or the sealing means for the lower one. f

The closure spring, according to the invention,

Lisjmade from a band of spring steel or similar metaL There is a depending hook portion at either end of the band to engage the shoulder means on the container adjacent each portion. Flat portions substantially at right angles tothe hooked portions are adapted to lie in the grooves `of the container top. Downwardly `depending `portions extend'from the other end ofy each fiat portionto the point at which the spring is kto Vbe fulcrumed so that there are two fulcrum points one on either side of the mid point of the spring. These two fulcrum points are joined by a bridgemember forming the central portion of the spring. 'Ihis bridge'm'ember is .such that when the spring is mounted on kthe top of the container, depression of the bridge member or pressure on the inclined portions between the `fulcrumed points gives the spring a leveraction about both rfulcrumpoints so that this lever action, together with the inherent resilience of the spring, cause the depending hook portions to move outwardly. The movement of the hook portions is such that at least one of them can be disengaged from the shoulder means and the top removed.

The invention will be further illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container with the closure according to the invention and in its sealed position.

Figure 2 is a partial sectional elevation of one embodiment of the invention showing the closure in its sealed position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing one position of the spring for removal of the top.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of a further embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the closure illustrated in Fig. 4.

In the drawing and particularly in Figs. 1-3, l is a container having a substantially rectangular ange 2 at its open end. The upper surface of the ange has circumferential ribs 3 upon which a resilient washer 4 is placed. A cover indicated generally at 5 rests upon the washer l. The surface of the cover in contact with the washer has ribs 6 similar to those .on the upper surface of the container flange. The cover can be considered as having two distinct portions, a peripheral portion 1 and a countersunk portion 8, the latter extending down into the container. The peripheral portion of the container has two opposed grooves 9.

The spring for the closure is indicated generally at I0 and includes two depending hook like portions I I, each of which engages the lower outside angle of the flange 2. At the top of the depending portion, the spring is formed with two flat portions I2. The latter lie in the grooves of the peripheral portion of the top so that their upper surface does not extend above the upper surface of the peripheral portion. There are then two depending portions I3 which end at the fulcrum points I4 of the spring, the latter being joined by a bridge like central portion I5.

In applying the closure to the container, the top is placed over the washer 4. The spring is thenapplied by placing one of the hook portions in vengagement with the flange 2 with its at portion lying in the adjacent peripheral groove in the top. The other flat portion is then placed in the'opposite groove and by exerting pressure on the bridge member I5 the opposite hook members can be moved outwardly and downwardly so that on release of the pressure it will engage the flange on the opposite side of the container. Removal oi the top is effected similarly by pressing on the bridge member I5 so that as shown in Figure 3 the spring acts as a lever about thel fulcrum points I4 and the hooks II are moved outwardly from the ange of the container to such an extent that as shown in Fig. 3 both hook portions become disengaged from the flange. When applying pressure to the spring either to apply or remove the closure, the pressure can be exerted centrally of the bridge member or upon the inclined portions thereof between the fulcrumed points. The effect of this on the spring is illustrated in Fig. 3. Alternatively, the spring may be disengaged from the shoulder by applying pressure at the points indicated by reference numeral I8.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, Here the hook p01- tion of the spring is curved and has at approximately its mid point an eyelet I6 which can be formed by partially punching out a small stri-p of the spring. This formation is clearly illustrated in the enlarged view in Fig. 5. A wire or similar sealing device I'I extends around the container and through the eyelets so that the closure cannot be tampered with.

It will be seen that with a closure of this kind, there is no danger of the spring becoming unfastened in packing, stacking or shipping, since in the closed position all parts of the spring are below the upper surface of the top. It will also be appreciated that the various parts of this closure are of similar construction and easy to manufacture from sturdy material.

'Ihis closure is particularly applicable to glass jars. When applied to them it gives them all the packing and stacking flexibility associated with containers having regular surfaces and provides in addition a hermetic seal. The display advantages of a glass container can by reason of this invention be fully enjoyed.

I claim:

A closure for a container having shoulder means adjacent its open end, comprising a removable top having a countersunk central portion and a grooved peripheral portion, the grooves extending radially from the countersunk central portion to the outer edge oi the peripheral portion, and spring means having hooked end portions to engage said shoulder means on the container, flat portions to lie in said grooves, two wide, open topped, V-shaped depending portions having fulcrums at their lower ends normally engaging and exerting pressure on the countersunk central portion of the top at points spaced inwardly from the peripheral portion of the top, and a normally flat bendable bridge portion between and connecting said depending portions and spaced apart from said countersunk portion of said top, the bridge portion serving when depressed toward said container, to move said fulcrums apart radially of the top, to move said depending portions about said fulcrums and to move the hooked end portions outwardly from engagement with said shoulder means.

DOUGLAS WILLIAM GUNN. 

